After a summer of fun frolicking with the kids, parting can be such sweet sorrow for your pooch. But Kevin Roberts, an elementary school teacher and dog dad, has a few ideas to keep your pupís mind occupied until school lets out.

Itís back to school time Ė woo hoo! For many parents, itís the most wonderful time of the year (okay, for ALL parents). But for the family dog, heading back to class can be stressful. The end of summer can spell the end of the good times Ė trips to the beach, constant play dates, lazy days on the deck, Frisbee in the park. Hey, they donít call them the ďdog days of summerĒ for nothing!

When the days start to shorten and back-to-school sales are rampant, itís a sign of the return to regular activities for the family. This often means that the dog is going to be home alone, and after the summer he just had, heís not going to be happy. Here is my list on how to beat the Back-to-School Dog Blues:

I will admit to being worried about this. In a normal, school year (and work year for me and hubby) Dorothy is alone about 13 hours a week. During the summers, however, she is rarely alone as my kids are home.

I am seriously thinking of starting to bring her to the office - at least in the mornings. And, if I did that, she would only be alone one hour a day......from the time we leave the house when we go home at lunch until my oldest son comes home from highschool just after 2pm.

I have been toying with brining her to the office but my only hesitation is HER wanting to constantly be ON MY LAP. I would have to curb that and have her lay in her bed while here.